Business, international

Reading shadows: after correctly predicting the Great Leader's death, shamaness moves into the big time

Article Abstract:

South Korean shamaness Shim Jin Song won international fame by accurately predicting the day North Korean leader Kim Il Sung would die, making her book a bestseller among Koreans worldwide and giving her religion new prominence. The country has between 60,000 and 80,000 shamans, who are gaining followers. Shim claims to hear the voice of a shin, or god, who she identifies as Samyong Daesa, a 16th-century monk. Many shamanists say Koreans give their religion little respect, but Shim hopes to make it a university department.

Dreaming of hot rolls; new Hyundai head wants a steel mill, Seoul doesn't

Article Abstract:

New Hyundai chairman Chung Mong Koo, the son of the founder and nephew of his predecessor, vowed immediately to pursue his father's ambition of adding steel-making to the chaebol's stable of operations. While it would in some ways logically complete the heavy-industry conglomerate's capabilities, the plan also runs directly afoul of govt plans to limit the chaebols' power, and lacks the blessing of Hyundai's current supplier, Pohang Iron & Steel, part-owned by the state. The steel mill may have to await a new govt.